Shire acquired Baxalta one year after Baxalta spun-off from Baxter Healthcare. Shire is now the leading global biotechnology company focused on serving people affected by rare diseases and highly specialized conditions. These diseases are often misunderstood, under-diagnosed, and potentially life-threatening.

Our 22,000 employees come to work every day with a common purpose: to develop and deliver breakthrough therapies that enable people with life-altering conditions to live their lives to the fullest.

Bringing together two companies and two cultures presents challenges and opportunities. We are employing a variety of approaches to build the foundation of an effective organization including understanding, relationships and trust.

Our approach also included a ‘transition support network’ to educate our leaders and teams about the important role of acknowledging and proactively facilitating the journey from endings, through the neutral zone, and to new beginnings.

Managing the change event(s) is required, but managing the transition is equally essential. We needed to embrace the personal, emotional transition at scale before we could be One Shire.